State of Texas v. Markies Conway

Markies Conway, the Dallas rapper known as Yella Beezy, is on trial in Dallas County Criminal District Court 7 on a charge of capital murder for hire. The State says he paid for the killing of Melvin Noble, the rapper known as Mo3, who was shot on Interstate 35E in Dallas on November 11, 2020, at 28 years old. Conway has pleaded not guilty, and he is presumed innocent. A jury of twelve with three alternates was seated on October 26, and testimony began October 27.

The man who allegedly fired the rifle, Kewon White, has already been tried. A Dallas County jury convicted him of capital murder in September 2026 and he was sentenced to life without parole. Prosecutors say White was hired by Conway for a promised cash payment, and that a long-running feud between the two rappers is the motive. The defense says the case against Conway is circumstantial. The judge has allowed the jury to hear three of nine rap songs offered by the State, along with a 2019 interview.

That is the question of this trial: whether the State can prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the man who did not pull the trigger is the man who sent the one who did, with a shooter who is already serving life and lyrics the jury may hear. That burden is the State's alone. Mo3 was a father of three, a son and a working artist, and his family has waited nearly six years for this. We are not here to convict Markies Conway, and we are not here to acquit him. We are here to watch whether the process can prove its case fairly.